It's You
by FeatherAura12
Summary: Though he's just given Ursula her happy ending, Killian doesn't seem particularly thrilled. Emma, curious, confronts him, but when the conversation goes down a lane she doesn't expect, will she be able to handle it?


Emma's parents followed Ursula and her father out of the cabin, supporting August between them. Killian was next in line to leave, but instead, he just wandered past the door. He stood there, facing away from her, staring at the door out of the corner of his eye.

"What's wrong?" Emma queried. She'd seen the stoic, almost angry way he had watched Poseidon reunite with his daughter, and it seemed really off. Why wouldn't he be happy? "You gave Ursula everything she wanted."

"But I almost didn't, love." Slightly confused, Emma waited through his pause before he continued, finally turning to face her, "I was so desperate to find out what the Crocodile was up to, I almost became the man I used to be. You have no- idea how easy it is to fall back into the darkness."

"Whatever mistakes you made with Ursula, you fixed." Emma answered consolingly, coming close to him and looking right into his eyes. She hoped he could see the conviction in her gaze, her utter confidence in him, and her sincere belief that he could fight back the darkness. But he still looked...dismayed, borderline anguished. What was eating at him, to make him look at her in this way?

"Aye. But it's a stark reminder of something." And though this was what she had wanted, an explanation as to the feelings that were obviously torturing him, Emma felt herself slowly start to back away from him. Unease was now breeding inside her, too.

"What?" she asked quietly. He glanced down, then back up at her.

"With all this talk of authors and the book, we've never discussed one fact." With the word "discussed", Emma took a large step back and instinctively slipped her walls and defenses into place. She didn't want to have to use them against Killian; in fact, she hadn't in weeks. But at the same time, she didn't like the way this conversation was going. Any time anyone had ever wanted to discuss something with her, it hadn't gone well for her at all.

"I was a villain." he finished, and relief washed over Emma's disquiet.

"But you're not anymore." she replied gently, smiling the tiniest little bit just because she was so relieved. Her defenses dropped again. This was Killian, of course she didn't need to keep him out.

"Neither is Regina, but she still lost her happy ending." Killian countered swiftly. Suddenly unable to meet his eyes, Emma shifted her gaze to the floor, unconsciously biting her lower lip as she thought it through. He was right, of course. Regina had had her happily ever after for all of a couple weeks before Marian came bursting into the scene. Then the problem had just been rectified when Robin was ripped from her and thrust out of Storybrooke. Emma had been trying not to think about that, and had been succeeding extremely well, but Killian had obviously given it quite a bit of consideration. Distantly, she heard him add, "If we're to believe the rules of the book-" His voice dropped to a near-whisper, "then it's only a matter of time before I lose mine."

That statement snapped Emma out of her contemplative reverie instantly. Her gaze whipped back up to his face, which hadn't changed in the slightest.

"Wait, if you're afraid of losing your happy ending that means you've found it." As she said it out loud, she felt terror building in her chest again. She didn't know exactly why, but she was absolutely petrified, and she could tell it was leaking onto her face. She couldn't bear to bring her walls back up again, though; she didn't like the disconnected feeling it gave her, even in the few moments when she'd done it earlier. So, with her face a mask of fear and her heart the same, she inquired in a barely steady voice, "What is it?"

"Don't you know, Emma?" he murmured, shaking his head. Then, with his face still painted in sorrow, he very nearly sobbed the answer.

"It's you."

Her terror gently burst like a bubble and a sweet aching swelled up in its place. It overwhelmed her senses so that it was everything in her. Killian's happy ending was...her? She meant that much to him? Aside from her parents, she had never meant that much to anyone. She just couldn't take it in, and yet here he was in front of her, the agony at the thought of losing her written all over his face. The impossible happened and the ache in her chest grew even more. Her eyes welled with tears as she stared at him, awe-struck. She stepped closer, unable to think of anything to say in response. All she knew was that after that, she didn't want any distance between them; she didn't want anything to ever come between them again. His pained eyes dropped to her lips, but in that moment, Emma didn't want to kiss him. She touched her forehead softly to his, her eyes slipping shut so she could fully enjoy the blissful feeling that was filling every crack in her battered heart. And when leaned his chin forward, she didn't stop his kiss. She couldn't have fought if she'd wanted to; in that moment, she was utterly weak, and taken over by something she hadn't felt for a long, long time. For the first time since Neal had turned her in, the tucked away part of her heart that she'd always driven people away from became whole again.

Killian's lips were tender, gentle against hers. There was nothing demanding in them, only giving. Emma hadn't completely understood just how he felt about her until that moment, when he poured his heart and soul into his kiss. A tear slipped down her cheek as he pulled her protectively close, as if just by holding her, he couldn't possibly lose her, and she realized that every ounce of love he felt for her, she returned completely.


End file.
